Our Physical Therapy Team
Dr. Mark Kevern
PT, DPT, SCS
Dr. Kevern earned his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Duke University in 2004. He has extensive clinical expertise in treating a wide variety of patients from professional baseball, soccer, and tennis athletes to senior patients for joint replacement and fall prevention. In 2006, Dr. Kevern became a Sport Certified Specialist by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties. He served as the team physical therapist to the University of South Carolina Upstate athletics department. Most recently, Dr. Kevern was the Director of Clinical Education for High Point University’s DPT Program.
Dr. Kevern has presented at numerous national, regional, and local meetings and symposiums in the area of orthopedics predominantly on upper extremity sports injury and prevention. He is an active member of the American Society of Shoulder and Elbow Therapists, ASSET, the ASSET Evidence-Based Medicine Committee, and the American Physical Therapy Association.
Dr. Kevern has two peer-reviewed publications in the area orthopedics:
Kevern, MA; Beecher, M; Roa, S. Reliability of Measurement of Glenohumeral Internal Rotation, External Rotation, and Total Arc of Motion in Three Different Test Positions. Journal of Athletic Training. Sept/Oct 2014: Vol 49: (5).
Krupp, RJ; Kevern, MA; Gaines, MD, Kotara, S; Singleton, SB. Long Head of the Biceps Tendon Pain: Differential Diagnosis and Treatment. JOSPT. Feb 2009: Vol 39: (2).
Duke University
Dr. April Kevern
PT, DPT
Dr. Kevern has over 18 years of experience as a PT. She received her B.S. in exercise science from Campbell University in 2003. In 2006 she graduated from Duke University with her Doctorate in Physical Therapy.
Dr. Kevern is an experienced orthopedic physical therapist and completed Maitland training for manual therapy and is dry needling certified. She also received advanced training in pelvic Health and treats men and women of all ages with pelvic health concerns, including chronic pelvic pain, urinary, and bowel incontinence, pre and postnatal pain/dysfunction, post pelvic and abdominal surgery management, and sexual dysfunction.
Over her career, Dr. Kevern has also worked extensively with neurological disorders including vestibular dysfunctions, balance disorders, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and more.
April is also a licensed Perrin Technique Practitioner specializing in ME/CFS and long Covid. ME/CFS self-help resource.
Originally from Charlotte, April loves living in Asheville with her husband, Mark, and their 3 children. She enjoys reading, exercise, connecting with other Asheville moms, travel, and hiking with her family.
Duke University
Dr. Steven Ackart
PT, DPT
Steven is originally from Tampa, FL, where he played various sports growing up, including soccer, baseball, basketball, hockey, tennis, and track & field. His interest in becoming a Physical Therapist began after he broke his collarbone playing soccer in high school.
He attended Western Carolina University, where he completed his Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training in 2020. During his studies, he gained valuable experience through clinical rotations in high school, D1 collegiate football and basketball, and outpatient settings.
Steven went on to earn a Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Western Carolina University in 2024. He discovered his passion for outpatient orthopedic physical therapy after his experience with orthopedic residency at the VA Hospital in Johnson City, TN.
Currently residing in North Asheville, Steven enjoys hiking, skiing, fishing, and playing sports with friends and family. He also loves spending time with his dog Roxie and grilling on the weekends.
Western Carolina University
Dr. Kaela Bellefeuil
PT, DPT
Kaela earned her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Winston-Salem State University in 2018. After a year of practice, she pursued an Orthopedic specialty through Arcadia University’s residency program. She enjoys treating a diverse range of orthopedic injuries and conditions to help improve her patients’ quality of life.
Originally from North Carolina, Kaela is excited to call Western NC her new home. She loves spending time outdoors exploring, relaxing with her dog and family, reading, and discovering new coffee shops.
Winston-Salem State University
Dr. Alex Lallier
PT, DPT
Alex has always been passionate about health and fitness, as well as helping others achieve a healthy lifestyle. She is an avid runner and endurance athlete, and she loves working with this population in addition to anyone who is looking to improve their capacity to perform daily activities with less pain.
After graduating from Penn State in 2014, Alex worked in the financial services industry for 6 years before discovering her calling to become a physical therapist. She attended Duke University, where she received her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree in 2023. Since then, she has been working with patients presenting with a variety of orthopedic conditions, including post-op, athletic injuries, chronic pain, and vestibular disorders
Penn State University
Marty Davis
PTA, LMBT
Marty is from Western NC and attended Appalachian State University earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Anthropology. The Anthropology field taught Marty about different cultures and how there is a relationship in all cultures with hands on healing practices to help people recover from illness and injury. A shoulder injury lead Marty to physical therapy where he was able to recover quickly. Marty then attended Southwestern Community College and became a licensed Physical Therapist Assistant in 2016. Marty enjoys the hands on work physical therapy offers to assist patients to reduce pain patterns and recover from injuries. With a desire to further his hands on approach Marty attended AB Tech Clinical Massage program and became a licensed Massage and Bodywork Therapist in 2018. Marty enjoys being able to utilize the skillset of both PTA and LMBT licenses to assist patients in their healing process.
Marty enjoys experiencing Asheville’s amazing food, music and mountain living lifestyle with his wife Krystal, two daughters and boxer bulldog Sadie. Marty loves nature photography, hiking to waterfalls, exercising, basketball, longboarding, snowboarding and spending time with his family.
Kayo Fitzhugh
Kayo Fitzhugh grew up in Fairfax, VA. She attended The University of Southern Mississippi to play soccer and study deaf education. After starting a family, her focus shifted toward supporting and educating women during childbirth, leading her to become a certified doula. For the past two decades, Kayo has dedicated herself to homemaking and homeschooling her five children. Having her own history of injuries and the need for PT, she is excited to join the team at Compass Physical Therapy. Helping people has always been her passion, and she is thrilled to continue doing so in her new role. Outside of the clinic, she enjoys staying active by playing soccer, running, and hiking with her dog. She also loves traveling, cooking, and being the biggest fan on the sideline for her children’s sports teams.
Nathan Barcelona
Nathaniel is one of our front desk associates who works remotely to help with front and back-office tasks in the clinic. As a virtual assistant, he is trained to take on insurance verification, prior authorizations, claims, billing and medical scribing tasks. He is a licensed physical therapist in the Philippines. In his leisure time, he enjoys visiting his home health patients, reading finance books, and going to the gym for a workout.